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[0:23] Marc Tumminelli: Oh my god, we're back. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Little Me: Growing Up Broadway with me, Marc Tumminelli. We have taken a very long hiatus. I was pretty busy working on Broadway Workshop programs for spring and summer. And now that it's fall, I can devote a little time to creating some more Little Me episodes for all of you. Thank you for your messages and making me feel like you wanted me to come back. So we got some new episodes coming towards you, and you're gonna love them. Watch out. Here we come. Um, this week in my first episode back, I got to sit down with the incredible, remarkable, kind, talented, beautiful Elizabeth Teeter. Elizabeth is currently starring on Broadway as Lydia in Beetlejuice.

She is no stranger to Broadway, having grown up doing Mary Poppins and The Audience and The Crucible. She has absolutely grown up on stage and has the greatest head on her shoulders. She is so smart and so interesting. And I think we're gonna see huge things from her. So I'm so glad that we have this episode for all of you. One little side note is that, um, Elizabeth and I did not know at the time of recording that Beetlejuice would be concluding its Broadway run uh the first week of January of 2023. So we didn't talk about that, but we talked about lots of other things, and I think you're really gonna love it. So, without any further ado, oh, you guys gotta see Beetlejuice. If you have not seen Beetlejuice on Broadway, it is a scream.

Elizabeth's incredible, but that whole cast is unbelievable. It is so funny, it is so smart. And I took my family this summer, my niece and my sister, and we were just holding each other laughing because it truly is so wildly funny and very un-Broadway in so many ways that you can kind of take anybody. Um, so if you don't mind a couple of F-bombs, you will love Beetlejuice. So go see that on Broadway and uh buckle up everybody because this is my interview with Broadway superstar Elizabeth Teeter. Here we go. My guest today made her Broadway debut at the age of 10 in the closing company of Mary Poppins, then went on to play Young Elizabeth in The Audience on Broadway and Betty Paris in the 2016 Broadway revival of The Crucible.

She received rave reviews for her beautiful performance as Lily in The Secret Lives of Bees. And she's currently stopping the show eight times a week at the Marquis Theater, playing Lydia in Beetlejuice on Broadway. Please welcome the incredible Elizabeth Teeter.

[2:44] Elizabeth Teeter: Hi.

[2:45] Marc Tumminelli: Hi. Ooh, you've done so many things. And you're like so young and so fantastic. And I had the opportunity to chat with you this summer at Broadway Workshop, and I was like very, very obsessed. And I couldn't wait to have you on Little Me. So thank you for doing this today.

[3:00] Elizabeth Teeter: Thanks for having me. I can't wait to talk to you again. I mean, eight times a week is a lot to star in the show on Broadway and do anything. So I appreciate it.

[3:08] Marc Tumminelli: Thank you. You have legitimately grown up on Broadway, and so I'm excited to jump into your story. We're gonna go a little bit backwards because I want to talk Beetlejuice first. So I saw you this summer and truly was like knocked out by your incredible performance, your stunning vocals, and like how much heart you're bringing to the show. But I want to go back to telling the full story here of how Beetlejuice first came into your life and then sort of how it got sidelined a little bit.

[3:35] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, um, I feel like I've had such a long connection with Beetlejuice, just because wow, why did I say it like Australia? Beetlejuice? That's not Australian. Beetlejuice? I like it. Um, I like I remember auditioning for it when I was like 14 for like one of the very, very first workshops. I don't even think it had been like done yet, and so it was like an old iteration of "Dead Mom," like some of the old scenes. And it was very much, you know, like when you're young and you go in and you audition and you like forget about it and whatever, and it just wasn't coming my way at the time. But um, and then I, you know, it took New York by storm and I saw the last preview and then I was asked to come back in and audition pretty quickly, um, in February of 2020.

[4:27] Elizabeth Teeter: February of 2020, right before pandemic time. It was literally people were coughing and not wearing masks yet, but everyone was hearing about this thing coming.

[4:36] Marc Tumminelli: But yeah, you auditioned and you got it.

[4:37] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, yeah, it was really, it was pretty quick. Like I went in and auditioned and it was a really great experience with the creative team and I got it. And it was basically one of those things where I got the call that was like, you start rehearsals in three days, you go on in a few weeks. Um, and I was, I was in my, uh, like third day, second day of rehearsal when, excuse me, when everything shut down. It was, you know, the pandemic times. I was, I was in the studio when we got the call that Broadway was shutting down, and I laugh about it now with my cast members just because I remember I went to meet everyone at the theater, like we went and got introduced, and Adam Danheiser, who plays Charles Dietz, my dad in the show, met me on the stairs and was like, "Well, hope we have a show for you, kid," as like a joke.

[5:22] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. I was like, what do you mean? I didn't, I had barely even heard, you know, I heard maybe COVID, corona, whatever, for like a second, but I never would have thought that everything would have shut down. And then, you know, I went home. I called stage management and said, "Can I go home? This seems serious." And they said yes. And I went home and I stayed home for a year.

[5:42] Marc Tumminelli: And you were from St. Louis, so you went back home home.

[5:46] Elizabeth Teeter: I went home to St. Louis. I had graduated, I had just graduated high school that winter. I graduated early. Um, and I like came to New York for a gap semester just because I was traveling back and forth so much, like after Secret Life of Bees, and I said, "Oh, like I've finished school, I've done my credits. Um, I'd rather just be here. I've, you know, worked and saved some money, and I want I'm gonna come to New York for a couple months and just take class and audition and whatever before going to college in the fall." And then I got Beetlejuice and then everything shut down and I went home and, you know, pandemic locked in my house, and I actually went to school online for a year.

[6:25] Marc Tumminelli: Wow.

[6:25] Elizabeth Teeter: It's very funny. And then you got to do that the Muni summer that you got to do Sound of Music.

[6:31] Marc Tumminelli: Yeah.

[6:33] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. So like while you're waiting for Broadway.

[6:36] Marc Tumminelli: Yeah, and it was fun. Like I had, I'm really grateful for that time in terms of like I got to spend in my family and my, I became really close to my sisters. I mean, we've all been close, but um, closer. And I, I like wrote music and I kind of just took the time to do creative things that I hadn't done before. And then yeah, I got to do Sound of Music at the Muni, um, which was really fun, and also The Glass Menagerie at the Muni at, or not at the Muni, sorry, in St. Louis.

[7:02] Elizabeth Teeter: Did you imagine? Hold on. Could you imagine Glass Menagerie at the Muni? Like a four-person play on this like football field stage? Like you can't, I always say, like, the funny thing about the Muni, you can't see any expression past like the fifth row.

[7:14] Marc Tumminelli: Yeah.

[7:15] Elizabeth Teeter: So it's like at the Tennessee Williams Festival. Amazing. Which was very fun and like magical. And I was really happy to be able to do anything that summer. Um, so yeah, that was great. And then it was like, you know, rumors, like, we didn't really know it was rumors that the show was coming back. Uh even like previous cast members didn't really know. And then it was announced, and I didn't really know if I was coming back. It'd been like almost.

[7:39] Marc Tumminelli: It's been so long.

[7:40] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. Since you had to be here. It'd been so long, and I was barely there that they kind of like, it was like kind of a re-audition process where it was like, come in for a workshop. You know what I mean? Like, come sing for us again and like read with us again.

[7:53] Marc Tumminelli: Was that hard for you to like wrap your brain around? Like, you gave me this part.

[8:00] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. It definitely was. It definitely was. It was one of those things where you're like, this is just kind of the way the industry is. Like it's not, it's not always easy and like simple. And I think I approached it with a good mindset of like, not to sound like Delia for anyone that like watches the show, but like everything happens for a reason, and that like I was like, well, if this, you know, the pandemic stopped me from doing the show. If they want, you know, if it doesn't happen, it's not meant to happen. And there are other things down the line. And I understood, like, it's been a while, and also like in terms of the shift in the world, recasting like what's going on and like who's coming back and who wasn't. Um, and so it really felt like, you know, I got offered it twice and was like, all right. Um, you know, I'm here. And I definitely still get the, I feel like imposter syndrome that people have sometimes of like, oh my gosh, like, am I meant to be here? Like, this is crazy.

[8:56] Marc Tumminelli: Oh my god, you're definitely meant to be here.

[8:56] Elizabeth Teeter: But it actually kind of worked out in your favor because you got to have a real rehearsal process that you would not have had the first time around.

[9:03] Elizabeth Teeter: It was honestly perfect. Like, I also am one of those people that like I love rehearsals. Like I love being a good idea.

[9:09] Marc Tumminelli: She's an actress, everyone.

[9:12] Elizabeth Teeter: I, some people hate it. I love it. Like I always get a little sad when they're over just because I think it's so fun, like being able to be in a room with a bunch of creative people and not have it be have to be a product for anyone yet, but just like discovering and doing table work. And like the amazing thing was like so many people were coming back. We had a lot of new people too, but a lot of the principals were coming back. And, and uh Alex Timbers, our director, really like it felt like we were putting a new show together, even though they had already done it. We all sat down and did table work again, and everyone was talking about their characters like it was the first time, even though I know like Alex and Leslie and all these people have been with it for years.

But um, but they even said they're like two years is a long time, and they're like someone so much has happened, and coming back to something that feels new and um and different is, it was really cool. And so for me, I was like, this worked out because I also got to be in the rehearsal room and really make it my own and bond with the other cast members because you know it's, it's like usually just a put in.

[10:11] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, and then you're like, I met, I remember meeting Alex and he was like, "We're so excited, like see you at the put in," and then you're on stage, and especially in this role that's like pretty big, it's like it'd be a lot to be thrown in and be like, "Nice to meet you, like let's do the show."

[10:27] Marc Tumminelli: It would still have been fun.

[10:28] Elizabeth Teeter: And, and also just in terms of life, like it, it I think it just worked out timing-wise for me. That was just such a, I'm just in a better thing.

[10:35] Marc Tumminelli: And I'm sure your Lydia now is so much stronger than your Lydia then would have been because you have so much more life experience.

[10:43] Elizabeth Teeter: Yes, like I just like being a couple of years older and, and you know having more experience and going through the pandemic, and it's like I feel like we all like know probably know more about ourselves, and, and like just like gratitude-wise, like being like, "Oh wow, like getting to do anything is amazing, but getting to do this and having, you know, waited and didn't know if you're working or not, or this or that." Um, so it all worked out and here.

[11:09] Marc Tumminelli: It all worked out. Tell me about that first night on. I mean, you get to reopen the show. Um, it's Beetlejuice's first show back on Broadway from closing pre-pandemic in a new theater. Um, and the fans of this show are insane. I mean, in the best way possible. Tell me about what that first night was like for you.

[11:33] Elizabeth Teeter: I always say like I knew the fan base was amazing and huge and crazy, but like I, I everyone kept telling me, they're like, "I don't think you actually like fully understand how much people love the show." I obviously I'd seen things on social media and this and that, but you know, you try to like stay as like distant to an extent. And um, it was like the first downbeat happened, and it was just like screams, like it felt like we were at a concert. Like it felt like we were, I forgot what some article was like, it felt like the Rolling Stones were like coming on when I was like, everyone's screaming. And, and it was crazy because like everyone just loved the show, and so they were, they were, they knew all the songs, not that anyone was like singing along, but like this song would start and you would feel that probably you would feel that energy.

[12:20] Elizabeth Teeter: Like I was like, people were like clapping before Dead Mom started. People were laughing at lines that were like they knew the punchline was coming and everyone was getting entrance applause. It was just like very it was it was nerve-wracking, but in a good way, because I feel like they everyone just loved the show so much that they were willing to like support you and get it. And also everybody's doing it together, you know. It's everyone's having their first time on Broadway in two years. Like, yes, everyone's having exactly so everyone was nervous. Like I talked with Leslie Kritzer about this. She was like, I'm nervous too. Like she's like, it's been a while. Um, I guess I had the like it was a little different in that I was like, I've never done the show before.

So I was like, who's this new girl? I was like, that's a little scary. But uh how did you feel with that curtain call? I just re-watched the video of the current call and Alex. Like it's just beautiful speech about how amazing you are, and that you you have you give a performance that could light up New York and you have and it's really it's true. I mean, you're remarkably good in the show, but do you feel a sense of like pride and accomplishment at the end of doing this two and a half hour marathon that's really about you?

[13:27] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's funny now, uh, because Alex is always like, Oh, I don't like to bow, like it feels weird, like you know. So we kind of we we kind of make up fun bows together to um get us through the week. But um, yeah, that that first curtain call is like one of those core memories that I don't think I'll ever forget, just because it was it's like every moment that you dream of like as a kid to be able to, you know, and then epic, you get to come up from like a pit and walk down and get like their lights and people are screaming your name. Like it's unreal. And and also just I think I remember feeling in that second. I'm like, oh, I'm gonna get emotional. But it was like I remember feeling in that second that I was like, I did it.

Like I did it, I made it after these two years, and not even two years, but just years of um of and I know it's I'm very privileged to say this at like a young age, but like I had I I'd worked hard and and um and it was just you can see it in your face, you can see that accomplishment. No, but also like yes, but just like your face is like, oh my god, I nailed it. I did it. I I did the thing. It's really remarkable because you're a young person with a lot of stuff to do in this shit.

[14:42] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, it's I definitely have those moments of like uh sometimes I feel that, or especially an opening, but like during home, like the biggest song in act two, like it's already an emotional song and already an emotional scene. And I remember I think like on opening, it was just all these emotions of like being in being in the mindset of the character, but you're also like my family's here, like like this is happening. And I remember it like turns around before like the final like verse, and I I remember having a moment before where I was like, I am singing this huge song on a Broadway stage in act two, and I'm like running down and singing, and there's a full audience, and like what? Like, this is insane. Like, this is it's it must be feel so out of body in in so many ways.

[15:28] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, um, I mentioned to you when we talked this summer that I found your performance like you're so physical in finding her, and I think that so many actors' intention when they're playing a goth or sad girl would be about being really quiet and inner and not really using their angst, and you you find a way to use your body that is so remarkably exciting to whack an audience. No, it's true, and I know you have a dance background, but do you think that's what it is? Do you think just that's how you felt her?

[15:54] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, I think it's I feel like in a lot of things that I've done, I like I've come being a dancer. I feel like I always want to like move my body, and and I feel like um I can really understand a character through their physicality, whether that be their posture or like the way they move, and and I feel like there's a fun balance, especially with with Lydia, of like when she is feeling more vulnerable and shy, and what does that look like? And then when she kind of takes her own power and she's a little cocky and walks around, and and and also just I feel like I have such a strong connection with music as a dancer that like I just need to move, like I feel this need to move. I remember um I'm always going to PT for like my neck and things just because I'm like always tight.

And I remember this in Secret Like the Bees too. Like I didn't dance or move like as much. It wasn't as much running and stuff, but like as an anxious, I guess I play a lot of anxious sad girls, but like as an as another anxious sad girl, it was like I I was like always like taking that physically.

[16:59] Elizabeth Teeter: Um yeah, it's funny because like I don't dance so much, but this show, there's so much running, like there's so much running and jumping and wearing like a 10-pound dress. And I feel like at the end of the show, uh, like I think I'm home in the blackout, and I literally just go, someone's like, Oh, okay, we made it. Now, have you still not missed a single show?

[17:22] Elizabeth Teeter: I've missed one now. Okay. One. I'm I was the last man standing. I think I did, including previous, I think it was like 165. Wow. Um I finally was like, you know, I need a day. It was one of those, it was like these five show weekends are like, ooh. And I remember it was like it was rainy. I just got my new kitten. And I woke up that it's such a hard decision to make sometimes. But like I woke up on Tuesday and was like, I'm also just not in the in the my mindset and like mental state. And like mental health is also important. So I was like, I think it's important for me to take a day away. Everyone was like, Yay! Like Alex literally texts me, like, yay. And it's weirdly freeing to be like, okay, like the show goes on and it's gonna be great.

Like, under studies are amazing, and like you took the time for yourself, and you're like, great, like that. Not that you have pressure for yourself, but there is, I think, also as like the new new person and and and youngest cast member. I've always sort of had that um mindset growing up of like um I've talked to other people who've been the youngest, but I've always been the youngest, and I think there's this this feeling that you that you have to work like twice as hard just to like prove yourself.

[18:37] Elizabeth Teeter: Prove yourself, yeah. And everyone was like, you don't have to prove yourself anymore. Not that that's why I didn't miss a show, but um yeah, uh it was so I miss I have missed one. All right, I am still very, very impressed. Um you and Alex have such great chemistry, and you know, so much of the show is about the stuff that he throws out and that he's playing with. What is it like to do the show without him? It must feel so odd, even though every understudy is incredible, especially at your show, and I know a lot of them, but it just must feel so different. How do you how do you sort of bounce off what's happening if Alex is not there?

[19:11] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, he's well, he's on vacation right now, actually. So um, he gets back next next week. Um, and it's good. Like I always say it's like it it feels like a different show, not in a not in a bad way, not in a good way. Like it with ever with any understudy or new person that's on, it's it's a new scene partner. So it it's fun. It keeps it new to to respond to someone new and and also just um every Beetlejuice, like Cobra's on right now and it's like a totally different vibe and super fun still. And so it's it's fun to like size up and match that energy in whatever way that is. And it's like having a different uh, you know, you're like doing a tennis match and you're like, okay, like playing a different person and and like what does that mean?

You have to like do a different uh I don't know, sports. Respond like a different sport. Like, you know, you know what I mean? And and so it's it's fun and and they're they're so great and and we I feel like whoever goes on is the we especially the two of us, like it's always a bit of like a camaraderie, like we got it. Like we got it. I always look at I've been looking at Cobra like before like the funeral, and like, I'll see you in an hour. Cause we actually it's very funny. We only spend like five minutes on stage together during act one because it's sort of like our two plots. Two stories come together. Um but yeah, I I mean I love all of them. I I miss Alex, but he's he's off on vacation.

[20:41] Elizabeth Teeter: So you feel a pressure, you know. Um you've we're gonna talk about some of your our other Broadway shows, but you know, there is like the star of the show is kind of like the CEO of the company in so many ways, uh if you were in business terms. And do you feel a pressure of like feeling like you need to take care of the people in the building and the cast and the way that you've seen other female leads in shows you've been in sort of do that sort of thing?

[21:06] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, I don't think I feel uh I don't think I feel a pressure in that like everyone is so like such a team and everyone keeps each other um I feel like everyone is great at supporting one another. But yeah, I think there's definitely I wouldn't say pressure, but there's definitely I feel like I've learned from other people that it's like it starts at the top, whether that's Alex or whoever, and you want to set that good example. Um but at the end of the day, I've learned that it's so simple to just be nice, like be like a nice person. Like, do you it sounds so so cliche and like obviously like we have our hard days, but um to just not take that out in other people. Like I've learned I've had my hard shows, I've had hard times, but it's like I I take that time that I need in my dressing room with like the close people around me, like whether that be like you have you gotta have your people that you like share that with, like, don't keep it all inside.

But that doesn't mean you show up backstage and like be like, I'm having a bad day. Yeah, um, just because it brings, you know, everyone down and and um it's and I think people understand that it's it's not someone's job to like always be like, okay, everyone, let's go. If you're not feeling that, because sometimes it's like I don't have anything to give. Like I'm really just trying to like get through the show. But it it just makes such a difference to like ask someone how their day is, or even if you're whatever, just like smile and and be um I don't know if that answers the question, but you're not gonna be.

[22:44] Elizabeth Teeter: No, I think it does. It's like, you know, you just bring your best self that you can actually offer. Yeah, that you can't that day. Like, bring what you can that day. And and don't like don't bring people down for yeah, other reasons. But also it's nice because Alex is Alex is such a does such a good job of that too. I think keeping everyone um, you know, up and we get it and we get along so well that it keeps it fun. Like everyone's always like, What are you doing? Like the jokes that like if you come out of the first floor, it's just like what's going on. This show is such a big thing. I mean, it's like in the Broadway Belters Club. And so now you're part of this like elf of a world of people that are gonna expect you to constantly be belting your face off. Are you excited about this challenge that now you're part of the Broadway Belting?

[23:30] Elizabeth Teeter: Yes, like I didn't even think about that. It was so funny. Sorry, it is. It's a big, it's a big belty show. She's a big belty show. Yeah, it's like it's I think that's been like the I think that's been the hardest part of the show too for me of like of like it's not just like oh, you have like one song, it's like no, like 30 seconds. Like you go on and sing dead mom, which is like you know, everyone knows, and then it's like great, that was your first song. Now you have like nine more. Um, so yeah, it's been more of like with this show particularly has been what people whenever I would hear people be like, Yeah, sometimes with shows like this, you gotta like sacrifice a little bit and be like I always say like a little bit more of a nun, and we were like, Oh, like what does that mean?

And then I was like, Oh, I know, oh okay. I got it now. Yeah, where it's like, it's like sometimes I just like I can't really go out after shows, like I need to rest, or you know, I I during the day, it's like you wake up and you're immediately like, okay, what do I need to do to be able to do a show? And whether that means you know, mentally going out to see a friend, like for your mental health, but it's also like a lot of quiet time.

[24:36] Elizabeth Teeter: Well, thank you again for doing this podcast for an hour. Um you need to rest those those beautiful chords.

[24:43] Marc Tumminelli: Let's go back to the beginning. What were you doing like around your house that made your parents be like this kid has got to do more than perform in our basement or whatever? What was happening?

[24:54] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. It's funny because like I was the one that was like begging my parents. My parents are in the arts too. My dad is a professor at Webster University. Shout out to Webster, go Gorlocks. I worked at the Ara Rock Lyceum Theater, which is where everyone works after they graduate from Webster. Oh my god. Yes. I definitely know people that have gone there. Um, so it's very funny when people are like, this might be weird, but I think I know your dad. I'm like, that's not weird. A lot of people know my dad. But um, my mom is a dance teacher. They're like the opposite of stage parents, in that I've been so lucky in that they understand what the business industry is, but they were never the ones being like, do that, you need to do this.

I mean, I feel like like every little actor kid, I was just like playing imagination games with my siblings and like moving furniture around and like singing in my room. It was very just like story games, like just in my room. And it was never even like, I mean, yes, I had those shows, like my parents would be like that would go on for a long time, like out of my bed. But I would beg my dad to take me to see the shows he had directed or shows he was in or doing whatever. And he would always tell me that I'd look at him and be like, something bad is gonna happen. I think something bad's gonna happen. Like I was just so into it.

[26:18] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, and so I think like I asked them to audition for the Muni at like seven, and you know, sang my eight bar cut of like "Spoonful of Sugar," which is actually very funny that I did Mary Poppins later. Oh my god, did you get, was the Muni the first like thing you booked?

[26:18] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, which is crazy because my parents were like, are you sure you want to do this? They're like, we'll put you in summer camp, like if it doesn't happen, like it's okay. And then I did "Meet Me in St. Louis," which is like very touching and fitting. And I remember I guess I had always, I can't remember a time where I didn't want to perform, but I remember the post-show depression was so like, I remember I finished the show and I just was like crying. I was just so sad because to me it was like my imagination games, but other people were playing them with me. Like I get to do this. And it's so funny that sometimes I look back and I'm like, I get more nervous now. Like I've talked to people about this, when you get older, you get more nervous than when you're younger because you just don't care. Like I didn't think about it in any way. It was just fun. And it is fun now, but it's just like a different thing. I'm like, I just went out and did it. Like I didn't think about it.

[27:30] Elizabeth Teeter: You know, it's like, yeah, it's like a week or something for 10 performances. You like hold on to them. But I always like, I was talking to my mom about this the other day because it was very important that I was always just something like a hobby, like something I wanted to do. And I was never like auditioning every day or auditioning for commercials or like doing all of that. It was just sort of like I did the Muni like kind of the summers and I started doing more like local stuff here and there. And then eventually, um, there were like a lot of kid shows coming out in New York and um, I went, how did you get Mary Poppins? Did you have an agent at that point?

[28:09] Elizabeth Teeter: It was like around the same time. I got an agent in New York, and they were kind of sending me out for all the like, you know, Billy Elliott, Annie, Matilda, like Mary Poppins. And it was just such a quick, I went in for one of the like one big audition thing, and I remember it's one of those moments I don't think I'll ever forget either of like getting the call that I got it, and it was just like, what? Like I didn't know what to do with myself. And it felt like I always tell people it was so funny because I remember someone asking me, like, what theater are you gonna be in? And I was like, Broadway. Broadway, Broadway Theater, New Amsterdam, Broadway. And I was like, I'm on Broadway. Like I didn't even process that there were like theaters, multiple theaters. Um, which is just so funny because I knew that, but like I didn't know. I was just like, yeah, Broadway, like whatever Broadway Theater. Um, dum dum, going to Broadway.

[28:57] Marc Tumminelli: Did you know that Mary that you were joining the closing company, or did they announce closing while you were there?

[29:02] Elizabeth Teeter: No, we found out that it was closing like pretty close to when it closed. It was one of those weird situations where everyone was like, oh, okay. Um, so I never got the awkward like you're too tall. Okay, well, that's good. So who was like, you don't live in New York, so how do they, how were you working out with your family to like come to New York and star in a Broadway musical?

[29:22] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. Um, I was lucky that my family was like ready to go on that adventure. And it was like one of the, we say it was one of the best years for our family because my brother and I, so I have a lot of siblings. I have a twin brother and two younger sisters. So my gosh, it's a big, that's a lot. It's great because like they all have their own hobbies and interests, and my parents were like everyone is equal in that. It doesn't matter that I was doing shows or whatever. It was like, we're gonna support everyone, and it doesn't, it's not like you're gonna be a star kid, like keep working. Like none of that. Um, so we all decided that we wanted to come here. They wanted to come with me to New York for the year, however long, and my dad stayed home to teach and would come and visit. So we all came here. My mom like homeschooled us for a year.

[30:08] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh my god. And we like joined this homeschool group, which is like so fun, like in New York, all these like artistic kids. And it was just coming from such a small, my parents had lived in New York for years and all around, so they like, you know, it was like exciting for them, I'm sure to be like, yeah, to be back. They love it here, they would live here if they could, but um, it just felt like eye-opening in that like coming from this little small town like bubble that we lived in to New York that just had so much art and culture. And we were taking classes at the history museum and like going to all the parks and like all these things that it was just like one of the best years. And then I then on top of that, I was like, I'm in a show. I'm on Broadway.

[30:52] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, and then we just started, you know, visiting in the summer if we could, like trying to sublet places, um, and it became like a second home. Like, we all just know the city um so well now. And obviously, like when I kept doing shows here, my parents were like, well, we can't all move here again. Like, that just keep doing that.

[31:11] Marc Tumminelli: But let's stay in Mary Poppins' world first a little bit. What do you remember about that night of your Broadway debut? First time hitting the stage in truly the most beautiful theater on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater. And that huge show. I mean, you're in a huge show again, yeah.

[31:26] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, and it was just, I remember like the overture started, and like I almost just cried because I was like, this is so magical. It was just like, that's the only thing I could say. It was magical, and it was also like, you know, you're 10, so like everything just feels larger than life in the city and larger than life on stage. And I remember I was sad that I like didn't get to go on every night. I was like, what do you mean? Like I wanted to do it. What do you mean there's two other girls? I was like, oh my dude, every night.

[31:57] Marc Tumminelli: Um, and it was also really special because we had, I had like a lot of surrogate family randomly in a show. It's not like why I got in the show, but Megan Osterhaus, who was playing my mom at the time, was my dad's college mentor's daughter. So when my dad was young, she was like running around at like four years old. So he'd like known, and then she was playing my mom. It was just very like kind of emotional for my family to see all those weird full circle things.

[32:26] Marc Tumminelli: Um, was Mary when you joined the show?

[32:29] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, Stephanie Lee.

[32:31] Marc Tumminelli: Okay.

[32:31] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah. Um, like all the magic tricks felt like I remember where like we flew in the nursery every time, like all the things that were like so exciting. I remember one of like the little boys who played Michael, I think, once, like when we first had our like day where we got to see all the magic kills. Man, I'm never gonna get tired of this magic stuff.

[32:50] Elizabeth Teeter: Magic cool. Magic stuff. This magic stuff. I mean, Disney magic is broadly magic. Disney magic is real. It's very exciting.

[32:58] Marc Tumminelli: Um, how did you deal with that sort of three sets of kids? Was that a tricky thing for you to wrap your brain around?

[33:05] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, not really, because I feel like we were all, we all got a, we were really lucky. Like we all got along really well. They also, um, it was one of the few times I think that all of the kids were new at once. So it was like all six kids were coming in. So it wasn't like I was the new one, and the other girls had been there for a while, and it was like that could possibly be a weird dynamic. But um, so all of us were new, and everyone we got lucky that we all just got along. And um, it was you were either on, you were on standby in the dressing room or off. And it honestly was the perfect show for me because I always say I'm not like the most extroverted person, and that I was like I knew a lot of the Broadway kids, but not really.

Like it was just like some of the bigger shows like Matilda and Annie that had like so many kids, and there was like a lot of just kid drama, and like, do you know what I mean? Over stimulation, so much stimulation and like extroversion. I was like, I was like, and moms, which like my mom was like, uh-uh, no kidding.

[34:05] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, and so it was great because it was like, you know, we were either just the two of us backstage, we were on stage or we were off. So it wasn't like this crazy, like, ah, there's so many kids and so many people. Um, yeah, if you were in Billy Elliott, you were in it with 30 other kids. That's too much. And I was like, I, it was just so much, and I was never like super, I like not that that's a bad thing, but I was never, it is a different idea. It's a different thing, and I was never really that. That was never really my vibe as a kid. I think that would have like overstimulated me and like overwhelming of like ah, there's so many people trying to be having tension.

[34:40] Marc Tumminelli: Um, Mary Poppins closed, did you just, were you going home, or did you know the audience was happening already?

[34:47] Elizabeth Teeter: No, I went home for like for a year, year and a half. So I went home and I started middle school.

[34:53] Marc Tumminelli: Just like, was that a hard adjustment to like go back to real life?

[34:57] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, a little bit. I remember we like took a trip. We took, we like road tripped back and like took a family trip like somewhere, so it wasn't just like we were like back in St. Louis all of a sudden. Um, but it's always that same feeling for me. Like whenever I would come back, it feels like weird because it's such a quiet little town and you get back and I'm like, oh nothing is, nothing's really changed, but you went and did this huge thing. And then every time I'd come back, I'd feel that way just because I would go off and do something and come back and be like, oh, here I am, here I am again. Um, but it was great. I remember like the first year of like school I met some of my best friends. Like it was just a good, it was a good year. And I don't even think I did any theater really that year. I did like a ballet intensive thing like this over the summer and then the audience was like a year or two later, like a year and a half, a year or two.

[35:49] Elizabeth Teeter: Now the audience was this huge play starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth, and they were looking for two girls to play the young version of her to alternate, right? Um, and so you and Sadie Sink booked that job and that was like a, some people may know her.

[36:03] Elizabeth Teeter: Some people might be very famous. Yeah, she is. Um, you're doing fine. It's, oh my gosh, it's very fun. Like we're, we're like best friends still. We're very close. So it's, it's very fun to like see our paths and because yeah, I knew her before all the all Stranger Things and I'm like so proud of her.

[36:23] Marc Tumminelli: I mean, you are someone who's played Queen Elizabeth on Broadway, so that's pretty exciting just for you.

[36:27] Elizabeth Teeter: Yes. Do you feel weirdness now that she has passed on?

[36:27] Elizabeth Teeter: It was a little weird. No, it was like for a second I was like, this is strange just because I remember like in that time I learned, I knew so much about her. Like we did so much research about her as a kid and growing up and like, you know, there's so many things about the royal family. It's, you know, like a lot of stuff, but in terms of like learning about her childhood and how, like how she grew up and was forced to like learn how to be a leader at like 15. It was like a weird like connection of like I remember like, oh, like this, this woman's done a lot. And also it was just such a big part of my life.

[37:08] Elizabeth Teeter: Like Brit I knew so much British history at one time, it's gone now. But like at 13, I was like, I can tell you all the prime ministers, I can tell you what they've done, like which was what the play was about, which is literally what the play was about. Um so I learned a lot of history that year. Tell me about working with Helen Mirren, which I'm sure was had to have been a dream.

[37:30] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, it's it's so funny because I don't even think I like I knew she was you know Helen Mirren, like when I joined, but you know, I was 13, like you know someone's big, but but I think now I really look back and go, oh my god, like I can't believe I did that. Um she was just everyone's relieved to hear when I say that she was like even better than you could expect, just because you never know with celebrities, like it's like, oh yeah, they were good, or like, yeah. And um their voice is higher, you know that's it. Oh, they're great, yeah. You're like, oh yeah, no, they're great. Oh higher. Yeah. Oh no, but she truly was just I was so lucky in in that I learned so much about acting, but also just how to be a good person backstage and be a good leader.

[38:22] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, she was so kind immediately. I remember went up to Sadie and I and like the first day of rehearsals and introduced herself and would come over and like talk to us and play with her hair and just be so sweet. And um, and and you know, they rehearsed us separately. They heard Sadie and I separately, which was very cool because we got to like find our own uh character, even though we were playing the same part. And Helen would, you know, work with us too. Like, we were always finding moments of physicality that was similar, and and uh she would just go out of her way to make it such a good experience for everyone.

[38:57] Elizabeth Teeter: Like on opening, when we bowed, we both got to bow because you know one of us couldn't perform that night. But we both bowed, and she like you know, usually how it works is like ensemble bows where everyone bows, and then like Helen would come down and like solo bow. And she grabbed both of her hands and walked down and we bowed with her, and it was like we you know, she did not have to do that, like she really did it, but she wanted it to be an experience. And the same thing happened with like the Tony Awards. Like, we were there and she was nominated, and she we were like, we were just excited to be there, and we were sitting like like one of our really, really far back rows, like we were just like excited, and we get this call from company management that was like, um, Helen's looking for you, like on the carpet. And we were like, what?

[39:36] Elizabeth Teeter: So we Sadie and I go down and we go. It looks crazy. We are these two like little girls, we go down to like the corner of Radio City, and like the security, we're like talking to security guard being like Helen Mirren wants us like to come back. And he's like, What? Like, no. And she this woman comes off of the carpet in her like gorgeous like white gown. She walks in her heels onto the corner of the road, basically, and was like, I know you're just doing your job. Like, I know you're doing your job, but they're really like, please, like, they're with me, they're with me. The security guard's like, uh, like, how do you say no? She's like, I mean, come on, come on. Did you really believe your life? Like, you're like, what is happening? I was like, what's going on? And she and she decided she was like, I want this to be like an experience for you. And that's just true class.

[40:21] Elizabeth Teeter: Like, she's done it all. And I feel like at that point she's like, you know, I've she's like, I've I've done it. I've I've lived it, I've experienced it. And like, I mean, it hell, I'm still talking about it today. So it clear it clearly it like had an impact on me to be like just these little things of going out of her way to make us feel, you know, or even just like she came up to me. Like, I have one of the I did do like a little like the the Cape Town speech where she's like addressing the the government for the first time, or like the people for the first time on on and over. And so like we had really worked on like very particular on the dialect and like really like all of this stuff that was very particular. And I've been that was one of her times that like one of the few times she was off stage doing like a quick change.

[41:01] Elizabeth Teeter: And one time she came up to me after the after and was like, I just wanted to say about the speech. And I immediately was like, Oh, like I'm so sorry. Like, am I going too slow or fast? Like, I know you need like it's a very weird like time for her to change. And she was like, No, no, no. I just want to say, like, I listen to it every night, and you're just you're really thinking about your words, and it's just so lovely to listen to backstage. And I was like, I was like, thank you. Like, just so sweet. And um, yeah, so everyone's very holds up to like how like I was saying earlier, like how you should be as a person, like it makes such a difference for the company, like having this, she treated everyone like every every stage manager, every every person in the company, and you know, and that woman is doesn't leave the stage, like I know it was it was an incredible play, and our and it's very dynamic performance, and it's something I like never forget seeing, you know, like in person. It was she's crazy. She jumps up and she's like 20 years old, and then she's like playing 70, and it was wild.

[42:00] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, did you feel like such a little actress? Because there's so few kids that get to be in plays, you know, it's like you're cute, you're in Anastasia, whatever. Right. But like you get to be in like a real play and have like a real I know it was kind of fancy. I feel like so lucky that I got that because I feel like it was it was like a class in that way. It felt like I was really learning instead of just you know, you go on and say like a couple cute lines and you leave. But I remember like the assistant director like sitting me down in this like rehearsal room being like, what is acting? And I was like, oh and it was like very like it felt like being in school in a way, like very like writing out our actions, like what are we thinking like he was very particular, like doing exercises and being in the dialect room and and also being around these like astute British actors, like who are very serious, but very they're very kind people, but you know, and um that was just such a it was such a huge part, I think, of and learning.

[42:59] Elizabeth Teeter: I knew I'd always liked acting, but um I acting is like my favorite. I mean, I love to sing and dance as well, but just being like I I think acting is just will always be the top thing for me, and um just lucky to be able to have that experience in a play. And then your next probably show is also a play. Well, you did not plan probably to come back. You were gonna do high school straight through, I thought maybe. And then the crucible came across.

[43:28] Elizabeth Teeter: I wasn't I was in, I hadn't gone to high school. I was I was in eighth grade. So it was still middle school. My middle school years, I was barely there. Um you're like, what? I don't know anything. It's very funny. Yeah. And I remember it was it was uh I remember actually thinking, like talking with my parents about um, I was like, should I? It sounds very funny to be like, should I do this? But I was like, you know, I had just done the audience. I got home, I did like it was very kind of quickly after, and I was like, do I want to be at home? Do I want to be at school? And then I was like, I can't see myself not doing it. Like, I feel like this is gonna be such another such great experience.

And and it was like it was just so formative, and and what I learned as a performer, and also it was my first time living like alone, like with a I was with a host. So this time your parents were like, we cannot for the audience. My mom was like, I'll come with you. My mom was like, I'm gonna come with you. Um, and then this time they were like, We can't.

[44:25] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, so I stay, I I stayed with like a host family who we met through someone who was so kind to just let me live with them, basically. But um their schedules were so opposite of mine that it that I really didn't see them that much. So it felt like a like a college experience at 14. Like I remember I was like taking the subway. I mean, I was talking to my parents every day. They were very, you know, it was safe, but like I was like taking the subway. I was I had to, you know, pack my lunch and by myself and do my laundry four-hour play and then do a play and then go grocery shopping. So it was it's so funny, like coming back and moving to the city and having like seeing a lot of people go through that experience for the first time at 18, and I'm like, oh like girl, okay when I was in middle school.

Yeah, it's like taking the trail, like being like away from people, and it was hot, like it was hard. Like there were times where it was like it with it is hard to be like during bees and stuff, it's hard to be young and and be living kind of on your own and not knowing as many people, but um, but it was worth it in terms of like what I learned and and and I feel like I I gained so much independence that I didn't know I had that year.

[45:34] Elizabeth Teeter: Also, again, you're doing a play with like Sophie Okonedo and and Ben Whishaw and Saoirse Ronan, like yes, you're you're like working with the people. Crazy, and and like Ben, that I would say Ben is another one of those people that was like, John Proctor's so dark. And like, you know, it's this three hour play. And and but he's like the sweetest person. Um, who would always come and like, hello everyone, like, how are you? Like, and then, and it was funny. I don't even know if I like said this last time, but um Kate Wilson, who was our dialect coach in the audience was also the vocal like dialect person for the crucible. And so she had taught me a full like warmup, like physical and vocal warm-up for the audience that we Sadie and I would do every night.

And she was teaching the whole company. We would do full company warmups. And then, like, when she left, she came up to me and she said, 'You know this warm-up.' And I said, Yeah, yeah, I remember it from like the year ago. And she goes, So can you lead it? So it I led the vocal warmup for the crucible company at the night.

[46:35] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh my god, that's so 14-year-old me. I was like, hi, like, and at first I was like, This is weird. Like, and but everyone was so like on board with it because I knew it. And so, and and it's such a dark play that no one sees each other all the time. So it was funny. Everyone, like, all everyone would come on stage at like an hour before, and we'd like start with our um swings. I'd start I'd like stand in the front of the stage and like lead these people in a warm-up. Like, it was so very funny. They gave me like a sash that said like La La Gaga on it or whatever at the end. Um, what a wild, what a wild story. I want to touch, we have to wrap up, but I want to talk about Secret Lives of Bees, which I saw in like the second row, and five minutes into the show, I leaned over to my friend.

I'm like, that girl is incredible. Like I could see everything you were seeing, you know, like you were so present, and that show was quite beautiful. And um, I'm sure it was very interesting to be that was their first time sort of working on a new musical, I'm assuming.

[47:33] Elizabeth Teeter: And that must have been like the learning curve of like being in school, being back in New York and also learning a new musical must have felt a little overwhelming, I imagine.

[47:42] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, I was like a junior in high school, which junior years like not that fun. Uh so it was, it was like my teachers were sending me work. Like I was going to rehearsal, I was coming home and I was doing my work at home and doing homework and doing finals like for previews, and wouldn't recommend doing that for a long period of time. It was, it was very, it was a short window. So I I knew I could do it. But um, yeah, it was like we were getting new opening numbers, we were getting new script pages every day. But it was so it was so cool. And I love the book so much that it was so cool to be like a part of something that I loved, like a character that I loved in the book, and having, you know, my input be important um because they like trusted how I felt about the character.

And so them being like, you know, having having Lynn Nottage be like, what would you say? And I was like, oh, that's I don't know. You can you can write that. You're Lynn Nottage. Um so it was it was a lot, but it was it was so cool. And it also just, you know, I already said like I love rehearsing, but like being a part of that process of something so new was was was so cool and exciting.

[48:49] Elizabeth Teeter: It almost feels like each big opportunity you've had is really led, it gave gave you exactly what you needed for the next thing. Like to do the audience and then the crucible and new life being and now yes you know, starring on Broadway and Beetlejuice. It does feel like it's these huge steps that are like these huge education-filled steps that yeah, I feel like I have like a story, like it's like a very much like piece of my life and like what I learned, not on stage, like off stage and on stage and be like and then this happened and then very like it's funny I would say like I didn't do like a million things like I was never always in a show back home or like everything is it was very like kind of specific right place, right time like things that were happening but it did they all just were like looking back being like oh wow there's so many like cool people I got to learn from even if I didn't really like put that together at the time but just like through being there and like through watching and experiencing that and and then like in Beetlejuice like I'm learning so much too by like what it means to lead a company and and seeing Alex and Leslie and and all these people um like and also that the true comedians too the stamina yeah we stamina which is like just bizarre to me.

[50:02] Elizabeth Teeter: I don't know, it's like so hard to explain. Like the perfect, it's so hard to explain to people that like don't know what that is because it's like, yeah, I always say like, how's the show? And it's like, it's great. And it's so hard, like, it's just because it, it's, and also with the five show weekend, and it's just like, people don't realize that it's like, that's just one day where you're not doing the show.

[50:20] Elizabeth Teeter: And so it's like, it's like you gotta, it's just a lot. You gotta space it out too. I mean, it's like, how do I give the same performance on Tuesday night and Sunday night and have them be, yes, or you know, have them be as exciting or give the audience what they 'cause like no one's seen it before. You know, some people haven't seen it before. And so it's like they, I would say like they don't care that it's a Sunday matinee and that like you just did three shows in a row before, and you feel like it's 10 a.m. and you're like trying to belt in asterisk. Like they don't care that you're tired.

[50:52] Elizabeth Teeter: Like, you know, like you have to give them, like that kind of helps too in terms of like you gotta pace yourself, but you're also like, you're also like, okay, so you need to be as invested as you can because someone's like, I haven't seen this.

[51:05] Marc Tumminelli: You have done so much at like such a young age. When you look back at that kid who came to New York to do Mary Poppins, could you ever imagine all of this?

[51:15] Elizabeth Teeter: No, like it's funny. I don't want to say yeah, I don't want to say yes, and I don't want to say no. And that like, I think I always believed in myself and that like I knew it just felt like something that was right to do. Like it felt like this is something I'm meant to do. It's not like I woke up every day being like, I'm gonna be a star. Like, I'm gonna star in the show. So I guess no, in that sense of like, I can't believe that I'm here now, especially like this young. But um, but also I've had such good supportive people that both believed in me and, and, and um, I say it's kind of lucky in that I've been the youngest in things that I've done because like the competitiveness was not really there, like in the companies that I worked with.

[52:04] Elizabeth Teeter: And so it wasn't like someone that was like always trying to like fight for fight and like and like see who's better or break out. It was just like these older actors that were just doing it as their job, and I got to learn through. And so it, I never felt like afraid to fail, or like I was like, oh, I gotta go up against this person. And I think that like weirdly helped me be like, okay, I'm just gonna like show up and do what do my thing, and if they like it, okay. And if not, like that's cool.

[52:31] Marc Tumminelli: Well, that is like the best way to live, you know, all of that.

[52:34] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, yeah. Because it can be so competitive and so like, why didn't, well, so and so's going, you know, and like you just can't think like that, or that's probably why you're doing so well too. Like you, you have figured it out. You're, you're, you're brilliant.

[52:49] Marc Tumminelli: All right, are you ready for the quick fire questions?

[52:51] Elizabeth Teeter: I hope so.

[52:52] Marc Tumminelli: All right, just don't overthink it. Just say the first thing that comes to your mind. All right, what is the first Broadway show you saw?

[52:59] Elizabeth Teeter: Anything Goes with Stephanie J. Block.

[53:01] Marc Tumminelli: Oh my god. Um, last Broadway show you saw.

[53:06] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, Into the Woods.

[53:10] Marc Tumminelli: Go-to album for a car trip.

[53:14] Elizabeth Teeter: Uh, Fine Line, Harry Styles.

[53:16] Marc Tumminelli: I want blank movie to be a musical.

[53:20] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh no. Uh, I'm just gonna say Pride and Prejudice because it's one of my favorite movies, but I don't know if it would actually be a good musical.

[53:31] Marc Tumminelli: Um, what is your favorite thing in your dressing room?

[53:35] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, I think the pictures I have.

[53:41] Marc Tumminelli: I love it. Um, can you name two real housewives?

[53:45] Elizabeth Teeter: I don't watch that show.

[53:46] Marc Tumminelli: I knew it.

[53:47] Elizabeth Teeter: I don't know. That's why you're so smart.

[53:49] Marc Tumminelli: Um, pancakes or pancakes or waffles.

[53:52] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, pancakes.

[53:54] Marc Tumminelli: Tell me one stage door experience.

[53:58] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, I guess we don't really do the stage door as much with COVID and stuff, but it's very funny because it takes people a second to realize it's me because of my hair.

[54:09] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, so it's always like, is that, oh, and then by then you're gone.

[54:14] Elizabeth Teeter: And then I'm gone. But this isn't exactly stage door. This will be quick, but like sometimes I come out of the lobby to say hi to friends, and there's like the big mural there. And whenever I come out that way, I literally walk down with people with playbills, like in the escalator, and like no one knows it's me because of my hair. And I've had multiple people ask me to take pictures of them outside of like the Beetlejuice thing.

[54:33] Marc Tumminelli: Outside of a picture of you, probably.

[54:35] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, yes, which is so funny. Or like, or like a girl and her mom walked by. I was like in the parking garage, and they were like, is the stage door that way? And I was like, yes.

[54:44] Marc Tumminelli: Oh my god. I'm dying over that.

[54:47] Elizabeth Teeter: Like, all right. Did you do any school musicals ever?

[54:52] Elizabeth Teeter: Mm-mm. Zero.

[54:53] Marc Tumminelli: Amazing.

[54:54] Elizabeth Teeter: I ran cross-country in high school.

[54:56] Marc Tumminelli: Of course. She does everything. What show would you like to do with Immuni?

[55:02] Elizabeth Teeter: Ooh. I'd like to do like Anastasia or something.

[55:05] Marc Tumminelli: Yes. That's a great. We're sending it out. Um, is Helen Mirren funny?

[55:12] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, she would like swear a lot and then be like, oh, when she was around us.

[55:16] Marc Tumminelli: Um, what is your favorite book?

[55:19] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, Little Women, maybe.

[55:24] Marc Tumminelli: If you can go back in time and see any Broadway show, what would it be?

[55:28] Elizabeth Teeter: Uh, maybe like Sweeney Todd.

[55:31] Marc Tumminelli: Like one of our.

[55:32] Elizabeth Teeter: We're getting it this year, and it's gonna be fun.

[55:35] Marc Tumminelli: I know. Um, how much fan artwork do you get?

[55:40] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, we have so much covering our walls. I haven't gotten like too, too much, but I get a lot of digital stuff sent to me, like over like Instagram and stuff. People do artwork, which is fun. Like so much artwork.

[55:51] Marc Tumminelli: Um, what is your Starbucks order?

[55:54] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, iced matcha latte with three pumps of chai.

[55:59] Marc Tumminelli: All right. Um, what is your favorite Disney movie?

[56:03] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, oh, that's so hard. I like Tangled, but I like the originals too. Like The Little Mermaid, very excited for the new one.

[56:09] Marc Tumminelli: Very excited for the new one. Um, are you into true crime? And if so, what case would you like to have solved?

[56:15] Elizabeth Teeter: I don't know much about true crime.

[56:17] Marc Tumminelli: That's okay. Stay in, stay in the place you're in. Don't, are you a true crime person?

[56:21] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, yeah.

[56:21] Marc Tumminelli: Like obsessed.

[56:22] Elizabeth Teeter: Yes.

[56:23] Marc Tumminelli: It's, I kind of want to, I kind of want to. I just started, you know, I just started watching Only Murders in the Building.

[56:27] Elizabeth Teeter: That's true.

[56:29] Marc Tumminelli: So good. But it's, you know, it's a great show. What's a good, if I were to like get into true crime, like what's a good podcast to start with?

[56:35] Elizabeth Teeter: I can send you like a lot of things to do. Your Own Back Door is really good. Um, I'll send you some.

[56:42] Marc Tumminelli: Yeah, send me some because I love the podcast.

[56:45] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, great. We got, there's no shortage of murder podcasts. But it depends if you want like funny murder, like people laughing at the right. Or you're like, or like, um, you know, the window was open.

[56:58] Marc Tumminelli: Um, okay. Um, favorite quarantine TV binge.

[57:03] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, The Queen's Gambit.

[57:05] Marc Tumminelli: Oh, god, so good. Uh, favorite Beetlejuice song that's not one of yours.

[57:10] Elizabeth Teeter: Uh, No Reason. I guess I sing that, but I like Leslie's songs.

[57:14] Marc Tumminelli: Okay. Um, what do you want on your bagel?

[57:17] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, cream cheese or like an avocado bagel situation.

[57:23] Marc Tumminelli: Tell me one Alex Brightman ad lib that got you really good.

[57:28] Elizabeth Teeter: Um, what did he say? Well, one time he messed up a whole lyric in Whole Being Dead thing, and he just went, ja va ja, ja va ja wacha. Like it just wasn't Lords.

[57:44] Marc Tumminelli: Were you laughing?

[57:45] Elizabeth Teeter: Are you, are you pretty good? I was offstage, so I wasn't laughing, but I, I break, I will break pretty easily. It they all make fun of me for it, but then when it, when it matters, I won't. Like there was a time. This is very quick, but there was a time where like the, um, the priest who comes out and does the first lines of the show are like, uh, gather here today to mourn the loss of Emily Dietz, devoted wife of Charles and mother to Lydia, blah blah blah. It's like this like paragraph of a thing before the song starts.

[58:11] Elizabeth Teeter: And he comes on and he goes, we're all standing there and he goes, we've gathered here today to meet and discuss Lydia Dietz. And then like discuss to meet and discuss, and he was just like Lydia Dietz, and like the music started, and I was like, and it was just everyone's umbrella was like shaking because they're laughing. And I had one of those moments where I was like, I have to sing. Like this is so like I can't laugh. It's a funeral. And you cannot laugh. But I held it together to the last second. I was like very emotional. I was like, mom, oh my god.

[58:45] Marc Tumminelli: All right, dead mom or home, you have to pick.

[58:47] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, I'm a home girl.

[58:48] Marc Tumminelli: Me too.

[58:49] Elizabeth Teeter: I'm a home girl.

[58:50] Marc Tumminelli: Um, it's a great song.

[58:51] Elizabeth Teeter: It's like the great 11 o'clock number.

[58:54] Marc Tumminelli: I like it. It's the F for acting too.

[58:55] Elizabeth Teeter: Yes.

[58:56] Marc Tumminelli: What movie can you watch over and over?

[58:59] Elizabeth Teeter: Uh, Pride and Prejudice 2005.

[59:02] Marc Tumminelli: Oh my god. Um, and what advice do you have for young performers?

[59:06] Elizabeth Teeter: Ooh, um. Don't, how do I word this? I feel like it sounds cheesy to say like be authentic to yourself, but I feel like there's so, like there's so much competition and, and, and you get so wrapped up in your head about it, and it's like just, just try, try to bring your truth to it. And also, like, it's a musical. Like we always say that when things get stressful, like it's a musical, it's a musical, it's a musical. Um, and also it's okay to like take a break and not be doing it all the time. Like, I never like going back to back to back just because you're not in every single like high school show doesn't mean you're not gonna do it.

[59:52] Elizabeth Teeter: Do it. It's amazing.

[59:53] Marc Tumminelli: Um, Elizabeth, tell the people where they can follow you and see what's up.

[59:57] Elizabeth Teeter: Uh, you can follow me at Elizabeth Teeter Official on Instagram. Uh, I think my TikTok is the same.

[1:00:04] Marc Tumminelli: I am not like you're giving us some good backstage content. We're having fun watching you.

[1:00:09] Elizabeth Teeter: Thank you. Silly and having a good time.

[1:00:12] Marc Tumminelli: And you're like, you hit it. It's very stupid.

[1:00:15] Elizabeth Teeter: No, it's exactly what it should be.

[1:00:17] Marc Tumminelli: It's so good.

[1:00:17] Elizabeth Teeter: Oh, great. Thanks. I was like, I was like, I can't, like, there's only so much time that I have to do it. But I was like, you know, things, it's so funny. I put on the costume, I post one thing, and everyone's like, oh my god.

[1:00:28] Marc Tumminelli: No, it's so fun to watch you. It feels like you're having a great time. You feel that when we're in the audience watching you, but you know, the sense there is a, there's a sense of joy that happens in that theater because the show's so electric.

[1:00:40] Elizabeth Teeter: Yeah, and it feels like you are really the plug that is plugging in that electricity. And um, it truly is an honor to talk to you here, but also to have you starring on Broadway and being such a great role model for young women who want to do this in the business. And uh, it's been a total pleasure to get to chat with you today. So thank you, Elizabeth.

[1:00:54] Elizabeth Teeter: Thank you.

[1:00:59] Elizabeth Teeter: Thank you for having me. Love chatting with you.

[1:01:01] Marc Tumminelli: Yes, and thank you everybody for listening to Little Me: Growing Up Broadway. Follow us on Instagram at LittleMe Podcast, and we'll be back next week with an all-new episode. Bye everybody.

[1:01:09] Elizabeth Teeter: Bye.

[1:01:10] Marc Tumminelli: Bye.

[1:01:15] Marc Tumminelli: Thank you, listeners. This podcast is produced by Alan Seales, Dory Berenstein, and the Broadway Podcast Network, and edited by Derek Gunther. For more information on the Little Me podcast, go to bpn.fm/littleme. And follow me on Instagram at Marc Tumminelli or on Twitter at thatTuminelli. And for more information on workshops, classes, and everything Broadway Workshop, go to BroadwayWorkshop.com. Thank you for listening.